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The urgent need for an alternative approach to innovation: Outlining some basic principles for more sustainable innovation
[L'urgence d'une conception alternative de l'innovation : Esquisse de quelques principes fondateurs pour une innovation plus soutenable]

Author

Listed:
  • Sébastien Brion

    (IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon, AMU - Aix Marseille Université)

  • Nathalie Fabbe-Costes

    (AMU ECO - Aix-Marseille Université - Faculté d'économie et de gestion - AMU - Aix Marseille Université, CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon)

Abstract

Innovation is paradoxical. Its dominant conception is now showing its fragility in the face of the challenges of sustainability, while it has become an inescapable dogma in the economic and public spheres. This article highlights the limitations of a vision of innovation inherited from Schumpeter and limited to the economic dimension of "creative destruction". This vision, while illuminating the mechanisms of competition, is now proving incomplete in the face of today's environmental and social challenges. In contrast to naive "technological solutionism", this essay questions the theoretical foundations of innovation. In particular, it points to the pernicious effects of incremental innovation, which, under the guise of technological progress, perpetuates unsustainable models and fuels the "acceleration of the production of the useless. In light of these observations, the authors outline an alternative conception of innovation. From now on, innovation must inseparably integrate a system made up of four interdependent dimensions, allowing us to conceive of innovation in a sustainable way.

Suggested Citation

  • Sébastien Brion & Nathalie Fabbe-Costes, 2024. "The urgent need for an alternative approach to innovation: Outlining some basic principles for more sustainable innovation [L'urgence d'une conception alternative de l'innovation : Esquisse de quel," Post-Print hal-04755778, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04755778
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04755778v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    innovation soutenable; techno-solutionnisme; approche systémique;
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